Jade Buddha Temple

Introduction 

Located on Anyuan Road, Putuo District in Shanghai, the Jade Buddha Temple was built in 1882 to house two jade Buddha statues which had been brought from Burma by a monk Huigen. He was a native from an island located close to Shanghai and had made a pilgrimage to Tibet. When he visited Burma after his pilgrimage he met a Chinese native called Chen Jun who donated five Buddha statues made of jade to him and he was able to bring only two of them to Shanghai. During the Chinese Revolution in 1911, the original temple was taken over by rebels and was destroyed hence leading to the shifting of the jade statues location. In 1918 monk Kechen, oversaw the construction of a new temple that was built on the present site in 1928 and was named the Jade Buddha Temple.

Buddhas

In the Jade Buddha Tower is a sitting Buddha measuring 190 centimeters high and encrusted by the agate and the emerald, portraying the Buddha at the moment of his meditation and enlightenment. 

At the Recumbent Buddha Hall is where the Recumbent Buddha is located. It measures 96 centimeters long and lies on its right side with the right hand supporting the head and the left hand resting on the left leg, this posture is known as the 'lucky repose'. Its sedate face displays the peaceful mood of Sakyamuni when he left this world. 

In the temple there is also another Reclining Buddha, made of marble that measures around 12 feet long and was donated from Singapore the tenth abbot of the temple in 1989. 

Chamber of Four Heavenly Kings

The Hall of Heavenly Kings is a two-floor structure with three doors opening to its south. There is a collection of statues representing Buddhist figures inside the front hall of the temple. There is Maitreya the bodhisattva with smiling faces that will apparently appear on the face of the Earth in the future, Skanda the bodhisattva with vajra pestle in his hands to protect the temple and the Four Heavenly Kings. These represent favorable conditions in terms of wealth, wisdom, passion and peace in the east, west, north and south directions. 

Mahavira Hall

Inside the Grand Hall of the temple, there are the following collection of figures.

18 Arhats: These are small monuments dedicated to people who achieved enlightenment.The Gold Statues of the Gods of the Twenty Heavens.The golden statue of Guanyin and Sudhana together with their 53 masters.Three Golden Buddha statues: Amitabha, Sakyamuni and Medicine Guru

Cultural Relics and Artworks

These interesting relics can also be seen at the temple

Bronze Buddha from the North Wei Dynasty (491 AD)The Tripitaka Jujube wood Avalokitesvara Statue from the Ming Dynasty Medicine Guru Buddha  from East Wei dating back 543 AD A wooden carved Lingjia Mountain from the Qing Dynasty

Vegetarian Restaurant

This restaurant is accessible without entering the entrance of the temple where visitors can taste dishes such as vegetarian duck, Arhat noodles, mushroom noodles, vegetarian ham, double mushroom and lion head noodles and vegetarian chicken amongst many other vegetarian dishes.